Rainfall alleviated drought conditions across Northeast Arkansas by the end of the month.
Every event with a place to put it; 4 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.
Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.
The episode as NWS MEG wrote it up.
Rainfall alleviated drought conditions across Northeast Arkansas by the end of the month.
The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.
NWS Memphis, TN wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jan 31, 11:31 PM CST, 29 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Memphis TN 1131 PM CST Wed Jan 31 2018 .UPDATE... Updated for the 06Z Aviation Discussion && .PREV DISCUSSION... /issued 947 PM CST Wed Jan 31 2018/ DISCUSSION... A cold front is slowly moving toward the Mid-South tonight and is currently located from the lower Great Lakes to KSTL into Oklahoma. Overnight expect increasing mid and high clouds from the north and low clouds surging from the south, across the lower Mississippi Valley. Temps will be mild, in the 40s, with a steady south breeze. Current forecast on track. SJM PREV DISCUSSION... /issued 331 PM CST Wed Jan 31 2018/ A few high clouds are streaming across north MS this afternoon but the air mass remains dry in the low-levels. A potent shortwave trough traversing Ontario has resulted in a rather tight surface pressure gradient across the region, supportive of SSW winds of 15-25 mph. We've seen a few gusts around 35 mph this afternoon but winds will continue a gradual downward trend, dropping to around 10 mph after 00z. Benign weather conditions are expected tonight, but a cold front will move across the CWA late tonight and early Thursday. Rain chances will increase throughout the day, primarily along and behind the cold front. QPF amounts remain light, with most areas only receiving around 1/10 of an inch or so. Moisture is expected to move east of the area during the evening hours so by the time the cold air arrives, precipitation should be over. Thus, no wintry precipitation is expected with this system. Cool and dry conditions are anticipated on Friday. High temperatures will range from the mid 30s in the north to the lower 40s in the south. Overnight lows will likely drop into the low/mid 20s both Friday and Saturday morning. Rain chances creep back into the forecast on Saturday but precipitation amounts look to remain light. Point soundings indicate a pretty dry air mass in the lowest 5+ kft, so it may take some time to saturate the column sufficiently for precipitation to reach the surface. One concern for Saturday will be the precip type. Temperatures aloft are generally just above freezing for both the NAM/GFS soundings but wet-bulb effects due to the evaporative cooling could result in a thermal profile supportive of snow. The fly in the ointment is that warm advection will be working to offset this diabatic cooling, maintaining low confidence that we'll be cold enough for wintry precip. Thus, only rain was carried in the forecast at this time (for Saturday). Surface temperatures are forecast to remain above freezing across most of the Mid-South Saturday night and Sunday. Precipitation chances will peak during this time as a strong shortwave trough swings across the Middle Mississippi River Valley. A mix of rain or snow was included for areas roughly along and north of a Jonesboro, AR, line to Camden, TN. That said, any accumulations are expected to be minor at this point. We'll continue to monitor the evolution of this system. If the moisture is slow in departing the CWA, accumulating snow isn't out of the question. Both the ECMWF and GFS ensemble suites hint at this potential. Will wait for a little more agreement before including the HWO. Cold and dry conditions are expected across the area Sunday night but we do anticipate a warming trend for early next week. The synoptic pattern looks to remain unchanged for early next week with the quasi-permanent longwave trough remaining over the eastern CONUS. The next shortwave trough is progged to swing across the area by midweek with precip beginning as early as Tuesday. Another chilly air mass is expected in the wake of this system. Johnson && .AVIATION... 06Z TAF cycle Low clouds will be gradually moving into the region toward morning and remain into the afternoon hours. Some areas of rain are expected to move into the region overnight starting over northern sections of the forecast area and then ending over north Mississippi by early evening. Most areas will see VFR conditions by Thursday evening. Winds will be from the south overnight at 10 to 15 knots with some higher gusts. There may be some low level wind shear issues as well. Winds will diminish some by Thursday morning and then gradually shift the west and increase by noon. Winds will be from the northwest in the afternoon and from the northeast in the evening. ARS && .MEG WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... AR...None. MO...None. MS...None. TN...None. &&
Hazardous Weather Outlook National Weather Service Memphis TN 248 PM CST Wed Jan 31 2018 ARZ008-009-017-018-026>028-035-036-048-049-058-MOZ113-115- MSZ001>017-020>024-TNZ001>004-019>022-048>055-088>092-011200- Alcorn-Benton MS-Benton TN-Calhoun-Carroll-Chester-Chickasaw-Clay- Coahoma-Craighead-Crittenden-Crockett-Cross-DeSoto-Decatur- Dunklin-Dyer-Fayette-Gibson-Greene-Hardeman-Hardin-Haywood- Henderson-Henry-Itawamba-Lafayette-Lake-Lauderdale-Lawrence- Lee AR-Lee MS-Madison-Marshall-McNairy-Mississippi-Monroe-Obion- Panola-Pemiscot-Phillips-Poinsett-Pontotoc-Prentiss-Quitman- Randolph-Shelby-St. Francis-Tallahatchie-Tate-Tippah-Tipton- Tishomingo-Tunica-Union-Weakley-Yalobusha- 248 PM CST Wed Jan 31 2018 This hazardous weather outlook is for portions of East Arkansas... the Missouri Bootheel...North Mississippi...and West Tennessee. .DAY ONE...This Afternoon and Tonight No hazardous weather is expected at this time. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Thursday through Tuesday The probability for widespread hazardous weather is low. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... Spotter activation is not anticipated at this time.
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
4 drought. Local standard time, as filed.
Extreme (D3) drought conditions improved by the end of the month.
Severe (D2) drought conditions improved by the end of the month.
Severe (D2) drought conditions improved by the end of the month.
Severe (D2) drought conditions improved by the end of the month.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Arkansas in 2018Every state in 2018This day in weather historyWarnings in Arkansas, February 2018
NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 739829, 739830, 739831, 739832.